▲ 660 ▼ An unusually wide adoption of rooftop solar in Aleppo, Syria. (slrpnk.net) submitted 7 months ago by ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net to c/energy@slrpnk.net 86 comments fedilink hide all child comments
[+] SARGE@startrek.website 102 points 7 months ago (7 children) [deleted] permalink fedilink source hideshow 7 child comments replies: [–] RamenJunkie@midwest.social 34 points 7 months ago (1 child) Because oil people don't make money from solar. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 1 child comment replies: [–] WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 25 points 7 months ago They do make money from solar. Just not enough to their liking. Returns on investments in fossil fuels typically range between 10-20 percent, while for a renewables project, 5-8 percent is the norm, Reuters reported in June 2023. “It’s also about the volatility of profitability,” Christophers says. Meanwhile, if the price of the feedstock falls, that usually means fossil fuels are cheaper – and thus the level of profitability can still be maintained. Renewable energy projects in contrast must contend with costs which are largely upfront and have to be met regardless of fluctuations in electricity prices. That makes investment riskier – and therefore costlier, cutting profitability. (source) permalink fedilink source parent [–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 14 points 7 months ago People against rooftop are the craziest to me. Not only does it give you essentially free energy, it also shades the roof, cooling the building just by existing. Every factory on earth should cover their roofs with solar panels. It just makes too much sense not to. Even from a capitalist perspective, it's stupid not to. And lost hours due to heat stress are common in manufacturing, throw up some solar panels and lower your indoor temps while shoving money in your pockets from energy savings. Heat stress injuries go down, OSHA rating goes up, insurance goes down. It just doesn't make sense to fight solar. permalink fedilink source parent [–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 7 months ago I just let them spout off for as long as they want. Then I calmly tell them I haven't paid an electric bill for over five years. Whatever their argument was is moot. permalink fedilink source parent [–] chunes@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago (1 child) I see solar panels pretty often in the US rural county I live in permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 1 child comment load more comments (1 reply) [–] raskal@sh.itjust.works 1 point 7 months ago 2 years ago I installed 30 500watt panels on my roof. It's been amazing! I'm in Canada, so I can't be off grid at all, but during the summer I generate way more than I use and in the winter I take essentially what I over produced in the summer, so I'm net zero usage from the grid in a year. All my heat is electric and I drive an electric car. My break even is 18 years, so it's definitely not for everyone, but I can see a future where electricity is almost free and we burn zero fossil fuels. I doubt I'll be alive for this, but if we all don't do this, no one else will be alive either permalink fedilink source parent
[–] RamenJunkie@midwest.social 34 points 7 months ago (1 child) Because oil people don't make money from solar. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 1 child comment replies: [–] WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 25 points 7 months ago They do make money from solar. Just not enough to their liking. Returns on investments in fossil fuels typically range between 10-20 percent, while for a renewables project, 5-8 percent is the norm, Reuters reported in June 2023. “It’s also about the volatility of profitability,” Christophers says. Meanwhile, if the price of the feedstock falls, that usually means fossil fuels are cheaper – and thus the level of profitability can still be maintained. Renewable energy projects in contrast must contend with costs which are largely upfront and have to be met regardless of fluctuations in electricity prices. That makes investment riskier – and therefore costlier, cutting profitability. (source) permalink fedilink source parent
[–] WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 25 points 7 months ago They do make money from solar. Just not enough to their liking. Returns on investments in fossil fuels typically range between 10-20 percent, while for a renewables project, 5-8 percent is the norm, Reuters reported in June 2023. “It’s also about the volatility of profitability,” Christophers says. Meanwhile, if the price of the feedstock falls, that usually means fossil fuels are cheaper – and thus the level of profitability can still be maintained. Renewable energy projects in contrast must contend with costs which are largely upfront and have to be met regardless of fluctuations in electricity prices. That makes investment riskier – and therefore costlier, cutting profitability. (source) permalink fedilink source parent
[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 14 points 7 months ago People against rooftop are the craziest to me. Not only does it give you essentially free energy, it also shades the roof, cooling the building just by existing. Every factory on earth should cover their roofs with solar panels. It just makes too much sense not to. Even from a capitalist perspective, it's stupid not to. And lost hours due to heat stress are common in manufacturing, throw up some solar panels and lower your indoor temps while shoving money in your pockets from energy savings. Heat stress injuries go down, OSHA rating goes up, insurance goes down. It just doesn't make sense to fight solar. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 7 months ago I just let them spout off for as long as they want. Then I calmly tell them I haven't paid an electric bill for over five years. Whatever their argument was is moot. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] chunes@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago (1 child) I see solar panels pretty often in the US rural county I live in permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 1 child comment load more comments (1 reply)
[–] raskal@sh.itjust.works 1 point 7 months ago 2 years ago I installed 30 500watt panels on my roof. It's been amazing! I'm in Canada, so I can't be off grid at all, but during the summer I generate way more than I use and in the winter I take essentially what I over produced in the summer, so I'm net zero usage from the grid in a year. All my heat is electric and I drive an electric car. My break even is 18 years, so it's definitely not for everyone, but I can see a future where electricity is almost free and we burn zero fossil fuels. I doubt I'll be alive for this, but if we all don't do this, no one else will be alive either permalink fedilink source parent
